Writer's Block
by Cascore
Summary: Every author gets writer's block every now and then. And whenever it strikes Korey, he can always count on his good friend Koops to give him some kind of inspiration to continue writing, whether he actually means to or not.
1. Witness an Amazing Event

**Disclaimer: This is not a serious project by any means. And the character "Korey", as you may figure out without my telling you (but I will anyway), is supposed to represent me. His name is simply the tail end of my pen name, replacing the "C" with a "K" and adding a "Y" at the end. It is not my real name.**

**Cascore's Note: Guess what inspired this fanfiction. Yep. Freaking writer's block. I've hit a bit of a rut, and, deciding against just not writing for a while in order to gather my thoughts, I've chosen to make a series of one shots about myself (in Koopa form) whenever I get a bout of writer's block. That being said, I don't expect these one shots to get rave reviews, especially since I'm definitely not showing off my prime with them. And, stemming from that, I just don't really expect these stories to be very good. They're basically things I throw together without much thought just to get my creative juices flowing so I can pick up on more serious projects again. However, just in case they are accidentally entertaining, I've decided to put them up on the site for others to see.**

**I hope all that didn't deter you from reading anyway. Just as always, even though I was simply messing around with the story, I do hope you enjoy reading it. Of course, I won't hold it against you if you don't though.**

**Warning: There will also be small bits of shameless advertising via subtle mentionings of my other works. Just so you know.**

* * *

**"Witnessing an Amazing Event"**

The day outside was absolutely beautiful in the small town of Petalburg. The sky was clear of clouds blemishing its perfectly deep blue hue, birds were chirping jubilantly as they enjoyed the warm weather, Koopa children were laughing and playing as parents kept a watchful eye over them while talking amongst themselves, passing the time away as they observed their children enjoy the day. It was all very peaceful. Very serene. And, as long as nobody walked near a certain green house on the far side of town that was situated next to the gate leading out to Shhwonk Fortress, people would be able to enjoy their day without hearing the horrendous ruckus of one certain Koopa banging his head against the keyboard of his computer repeatedly whilst groaning endlessly about something...

Bearing a blue shell with a matching blue jacket and blue jeans, it was surprising that the Koopa within that house hadn't yet obtained a concussion, for he ensuring that his head and the keyboard made frequent, extremely rough contact over the course of a full minute. However, even though he didn't expect anyone to care enough to drop by and see what the heck was going on, he soon heard a knock at his front door. Somebody must have heard the intense assault he laid upon himself via keyboard and decided that it was time to put the ruckus to an end.

With a moan, the Koopa stood from his desk and slumped over to the door, opening it slowly and preparing to apologize for the noise immediately. However, he soon saw that it was actually his green shelled friend Koops standing on the other side of the door. The timid Koopa wore his usual light blue jacket and dark blue shorts, and, for whatever reason, his band-aid still covered his nose. That thing had been there forever...what in the world happened to make him wear it for so long?

"Hey, is everything okay over here Korey?" Koops asked, snapping the blue shelled Koopa out of his thoughts about the band-aid and refocusing his attention on the matter at hand.

"Oh, yeah, things are fine," Korey answered, scratching the back of his head as he turned to look at his computer within the house. The cursor waited there. Blinking. Sitting idly, ready to create letters and words on a blank page in Korey's word application. Words that simply did not come to his mind for hours, for several days actually. "I'm just getting a little frustrated," he informed, returning his look back to Koops. "You know I've been working on a new novel right? 'Not Another Love Story'?"

"Oh yeah, you told me about that," Koops recalled with a smile, shortly before cocking his head slightly to the right. "But what about it makes it different from any other love story?"

A moment of silence washed over the two Koopas as Korey bore a blank expression, contemplating Koops's question.

"Well...I can't really tell you..." Korey admitted slowly.

"Oh, I get it. It'd ruin the surprise?" Koops guessed, making Korey's eyes widen slightly, for the perfect plausible excuse just presented itself.

"Yeah sure...surprise, right. Anyway, I've been stuck on this new chapter for several days now. I'm usually able to get one done in three days, or at least mostly done by then, but it's been about five days now and I still don't even know how I want to start this next chapter."

"So, writer's block huh?" Koops mused, bowing his head as he appeared to think while Korey watched him rather blankly. "Well, if you wanna come over, Koopie Koo makes some pretty good tea," Koops suggested as he returned his gaze back up to Korey. "It always seems to help me out whenever I'm feeling stressed. Maybe it'll calm you down and let you think a little clearer."

Mmm, tea. Maybe that would help Korey out. After all, he had been cooped up in his house the past few days, thinking and thinking about what he should write next. He could use a little break.

"Sounds good to me," Korey agreed. "If Koopie Koo doesn't mind having me over."

"I'm sure she wouldn't-"

"KOOPS!!!"

Uh-oh. Speak of the devil; that was Koopie Koo. And, judging by the tone of her voice, that wasn't a good "KOOPS!!!" like "Where are you, I have big news!" and that certainly wasn't a distressed "KOOPS!!!" like "Ohmigosh there's a spider on the wall!" That was an angry "KOOPS!!!" like "Koops, I'm going to freaking kill you!"

"Oh great, what'd you do now Koops!?" Korey asked, growing distressed as he felt that time was severely limited, for Koopie Koo was surely on her way over there at that very moment. Patting himself down and looking all over the place with wide eyes, Koops tried to discover what could possibly be wrong this time.

"I don't know! Wh-what'd I...oh no..."

"What!?" Korey pleaded, keeping a sharp eye out for Koopie Koo, who could be appearing at any second.

"I forgot my-"

"Koops!!" Koopie Koo's voice called out harshly as she appeared on the scene, stopping a few of the villagers taking their outdoor constitutional to see what was going on. With a noticeable wince, Koops slowly and timidly turned away from Korey, making himself face the wrath that was Koopie Koo's intense anger.

"K-Koopie Koo..." Koops stuttered, highly intimidated by Koopie Koo's stance, for she placed her hands on her hips and stared at him with piercing, narrowed eyes. It wasn't long before Koopie Koo held up the damning piece of evidence that justified her fury at the moment, and Korey immediately knew why she was so mad.

"Dude, Koops, you're not wearing your wedding ring!?" Korey exclaimed, observed Koops's bare right hand. Koops was quick to defend himself.

"I-I took it off s-so I could take a shower this morning!" Koops informed, knowing that his explanation wouldn't serve to better Koopie Koo's mood at all, but at least he could justify himself. "I j-just f-forgot it when I left..."

"Oh, so you _forgot_ about the ring that symbolizes our _marriage_ and our _love_ and _devotion_ for each other on the bathroom sink!?" Koopie Koo hissed, throwing the ring at Koops's bandaged snout, making him wince as it bounced off his beak and he clamored to catch it before it fell to the ground. "I am so _not_ in the mood for this today Koops! You are on _thin ice_ Mister! _**THIN ICE**_!!"

Korey could swear he heard a clap of thunder as Koopie Koo departed, her eye slightly twitching as a result of the harsh emotions she felt at that moment. She slammed the door as she entered her home a couple doors down and Koops let out a sorrowful sigh as he placed the ring on his finger.

"Well, nevermind about that tea I guess," he muttered, feeling too afraid to even step near his own home. He immediately seemed to forget about the situation that just occurred however, returning his thoughts to helping Korey deal with his case of writer's block. "Maybe you should go for a walk."

"Yeah, maybe I should," Korey agreed, looking off in the direction of Shhwonk Fortress. "I haven't really had the opportunity to stretch my legs lately. A walk could help."

"I might just come with you," Koops said, looking over at his home in which Koopie Koo was residing. "I don't think she's gonna let me in anytime soon..."

"Alrighty then, off to Shhwonk Fortress with us!" Korey cried out jubilantly, stepping out of his house and closing the door behind him, bearing a smile on his face in anticipation of the nearing romp through the nearby stretch of forest.

The pair began to head for the gate leading out of town, but Koops abruptly stopped in his tracks just before stepping across the barrier. Noticing the sudden cease of movement from his nearby friend, Korey stopped and turned to look at him.

"Wait, why Shhwonk Fortress?" Koops asked with a frown, apparently only just realizing that they were about to leave for the ancient building deep in the forest as opposed to Petal Meadows, an infinitely more enjoyable and calm area in which to walk about. "You know there's criminals and stuff on the trail to the fortress right?"

"Sure I do," Korey answered with a smile. "I figure, as long as we're going for a walk, it may as well be one that's on the wild side."

"But I don't want to walk on the wild side..." Koops muttered before turning to face the direction of Petal Meadows. "Especially when the safe side is right over there..."

"Oh come on Koops, you've traveled all over this side of the Mushroom Kingdom and you helped defeat the Shadow Queen for goodness sakes," Korey stated as Koops turned back around to face him. "Yet you're afraid to walk into an area that's just fifty feet from your own house?"

...Okay, Koops had no defense for this. Even he had to admit that it was pretty pitiful that he went through so much at one point in his life (defeating Hooktail, saving his father, aiding Mario to the top of the Glitz Pit, escaping an abandoned island, going to the moon, etc.), yet he'd never even walked through a forest that bordered his own hometown. It was simply an area that he never had much need to visit in the past and there was this rumor that some stone monster lived out there... But come on, he saw the defeat of a creature that threatened to end the entire world... Why couldn't he face some stupid rock?

"Alright, fine, I'll come with you," Koops gave in, much to Korey's pleasure. And with that, the two Koopas exited Petalburg. Destination: Shhwonk Fortress.

However, the aforementioned criminals and stuff that Koops worried about only moments ago saw to it that traveling would not be an easy process. They were barely able to step foot into the forest before a trio of red shelled Koopas wearing sunglasses erupted from behind a nearby bush, having shot themselves out with their shells. They quickly emerged only feet away from Korey and Koops, barring their path as they demanded the diamond ring resting on Koops's finger.

"That's a nice piece of jewelry you got there," one of the Koopas, apparently the leader, spoke up, indicating Koops's wedding ring. Both Korey and Koops looked at the ring simultaneously before the Koopa held out a hand, palm upward. "If you know what's good for ya, you'll hand it over quietly."

"Man, that ring is giving you all kinds of trouble today Koops," Korey commented as he folded his arms, staring down the Koopa trio as Koops cursed the unluckiness the ring brought him that day. "Look guys, we just want to go on a walk. Can't you just let us by?"

"Sorry buddy, 'fraid we can't do that," another of the Koopa's spoke up with a deeper voice. It was quickly evident that he was the muscle of the group, though he looked exactly the same as the other two. "See, either you give us that ring or we pound a few dents into your faces."

"Let's just get out of here Korey," Koops pleaded quietly. "I don't want any trouble from these guys..."

Bearing Koops's request in mind, Korey soon turned his gaze upward to the sky, appearing to contemplate what he should do next. And sure enough, a white speech bubble appeared out of thin air before him, bearing three options on how to handle the situation:

"I can take you."

"Here, you can have the ring. Just let us pass."

"Let's get out of here Koops."

Korey barely had to think before his made his decision. The menu disappeared and Korey soon returned his sights to the trio standing before him, continuing to hold his arms firmly crossed. "I can take you."

"What!?" Koops shouted out as the three Koopas balled their fists, preparing for a fight.

"You're gonna regret sayin' those words bud," the leader of the group threatened shortly before the entire trio lunged forward, making a stage curtain drop down from the sky and cover up the scene. The curtain shortly raised back up into the sky, revealing a small, wooden stage, at the foot of which rested a small audience area of fifty available seats. However, there were only six members present, but, thankfully, they all appeared eager to watch the on-stage performance. Korey and Koops were situated on the left side of the stage while the Koopa trio was on the right.

"Korey, I haven't fought in years!" Koops whined as he quickly jumped backwards, hiding himself behind the curtain that framed the stage.

"So? I haven't fought _ever_," Korey said, turning to face the timid Koops. "It can't be that hard can it?"

"Well my friend, you have already broken one of the most elementary rules of battle," the third Koopa informed, filling his part as the brains of the group as he withdrew into his shell, spun in place for a short second, and shot himself across the stage at a rapid pace, smacking Korey in the back and causing him to fall forward onto his stomach. The Koopa erupted from his shell and stepped back to his allies at the opposite side of the stage. "Never turn your back to the enemy."

As Korey pulled himself to his feet, he noticed that two of the audience members departed, leaving only four behind to watch the fight. With an aggravated grumble, Korey turned back around to face his opponents.

"Come on Koops, you've gotta help me. I don't know anything about fighting." Korey pleaded.

"Then why the heck did you challenge them?" Koops asked, still hiding behind the curtain.

"Because I thought you'd help me out!"

As the two made their exchange, Korey didn't notice that the leader of the group was preparing for an attack similar to the one that was just initiated. Panicking as he observed the shell rocketing towards him, Korey withdrew into his own shell, causing the opposing red one to knock against him and propel him backwards directly into Koops, who fell onto his back, left to flail helplessly as Korey reemerged from his shell and the leader of the trio returned to his side of the stage. And now, two more audience members left, bringing the attendance number down to only two.

"This ain't gonna be tough," the muscle of the antagonistic trio snickered as he prepared for his own attack, exactly like the ones the other two pulled off. Korey braced himself for another impact, but, much to his surprise, Koops suddenly jumped directly in front of his inexperienced friend and slammed his own shell into the one that was previously flying at Korey, nullifying the oncoming attack and sending the Koopa back to his trio.

"Thanks Koops," Korey expressed his gratitude, despite the fact that his friend was acting utterly useless just moments ago.

"No use in not trying I guess," Koops muttered without very much confidence, though he was ready to do battle.

"Hmph, it appears he isn't so useless after all," the brains of the group commented. "But that little display won't win you this bout."

"Yeah, but I think this might," Koops shot back with a voice that was meant to be confident but came off as being simply uncertain and meek. However, his following attack was not one that was meant for the weak of heart...

Koops withdrew into his shell and began to spin in place, just like the three red shelled Koopas did before him. However, Koops managed to spin much, much faster than any of them could, actually creating a small tornado around him thanks to the force of the rotating wind he managed to create. Korey, the trio of ruffian Koopas, and the two audience members watched on in awe as Koops's shell slowly lifted slightly into the air and, like a bullet, he was off.

Seemingly as fast as the speed of light, Koops shot right through all three of the opposing Koopas, catching them all off guard as they stood completely still, apparently paralyzed by the lightning fast, piercing attack. Koops immediately reversed his trajectory and shot himself right back through the group once again, only appearing as a simple blur to anyone that tried to keep their gaze on him as he moved.

Korey could hardly believe his eyes as he observed Koops ricochet off the ground before him, propel himself diagonally upward into the air, and slam himself into each of the three Koopas individually, knocking them backwards onto their shells, exposing their soft, defenseless underbellies. They groaned and grunted, obviously wishing to move, but their limbs simply wouldn't budge as Koops came down on his feet for a brief landing, only to jump up into the air almost high enough to smack his head against the rafters of the stage. Withdrawing back into his shell though, Koops aimed the armored side of it downward as he fell back down to the ground directly in the middle of the group.

Once he slammed his shell into the ground, a large blast powered forth, sending splinters and dust spewing all about the area as the stage completely collapsed and the rafters and curtains fell in on the scene. Sparks flew from busted lights and a fire soon burst out, forcing the last two audience members to scramble out of the theater in order to save their own lives. Korey himself climbed out of the dangerous debris, coughing as smoke and dust filled his lungs. Koops soon reappeared from underneath all the debris as well, coughing rather harshly like Korey did. Returning back to Korey's side, a few seconds of victory music played from an invisible chorus and Koops scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. Korey simply stared at Koops, eyes wide with utter shock.

They obtained one Star Point.

The scene of the trail leading to Shhwonk Fortress returned to normal, the stage disappearing as the three Koopa thugs lied on their shells in front of Koops and Korey, their eyes circling, utterly dazed by the massive beatdown they just received. Korey still couldn't believe his eyes.

"...Koops..." he muttered with an utterly awestricken voice, making Koops turn his gaze to him with a nervous expression. "...Dude...you...wha..." He gave a quick look at the felled rogues before looking back at Koops again. "And you were afraid to walk out here!? Are you freaking serious!? You just annihilated those guys!!"

Koops merely scratched the back of his head and let out a small chuckle. Without warning, Korey snapped his fingers as a bright light bulb cut on just above his head.

"I have inspiration!"

With that, Korey zoomed back to his home without another word, leaving a small trail of dust in his eager wake. Koops watched him leave, waiting for him to disappear into his house before looking back at the trio of Koopas, who were still attempting to bring themselves out of their daze. Koops then looked at the trail beyond, and, after thinking about the stone monster rumored to live at the far end, a chill ran down his spine.

"This place still creeps me out..."


	2. An Accidental Murder

**C/N: I don't really know what to say. I have writer's block. So read on.**

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**"An Accidental Murder"**

"I think it's about time you introduce some serious conflict in your story; you know, just have something happen that affects everyone," Koops suggested as he handed Korey a chocolate ice cream cone. Deciding against going on another walk out of town like they had last time writer's block struck Korey, the two settled for gallivanting about Petalburg that day.

It was a particularly hot afternoon; Spring was coming in with some impressively intense force it seemed, and the pair of Koopas quickly made sure to find a shady tree under which to continue their conversation.

"Yeah, I think so too," Korey agreed as he took a seat, careful not to spill his ice cream as he did so. "And I know what I want to do, I'm just stuck when it comes to actually writing it."

"Hm, don't think I can help there," Koops admitted. "How you write is all up to you."

Korey nodded in silent agreement as both Koopas took a bite out of the chunks of ice cream resting atop their cones. It was a rather boring day so far. Nothing very exciting was going on, there was hardly anything to talk about...everything was completely normal. The Koopas racked their brains in an attempt to come up with something–anything–to talk about.

Fortunately, Koops seemed to come up with something that might be of interest.

"So, I think Koopie Koo might be mad at me again," he spoke up.

Okay, maybe it wasn't anything actually surprising or interesting, but it was better than nothing at least.

"What'd you do this time?" Korey asked with a lazy glance over to his friend.

"She wanted to go see some horror movie with a friend of hers and wanted me to come along. And I said I didn't want to go," Koops answered with a sigh.

"Why not? It's just a movie," Korey commented before taking another bite from his ice cream.

"Horror movies always make we queasy though," Koops said, holding his stomach uncomfortably at the mere thought of what went on in such movies. "And I always have nightmares for weeks after seeing one. But, even though Koopie Koo knew that, she seemed to get mad at me anyway; she hasn't spoken to me since I said I didn't want to go."

"Eh, girls, what are you gonna do?"

There was a silence.

"Koops?"

"Huh?"

"What are you gonna do?" Korey repeated.

"Oh, I thought that was a rhetorical question..." Koops muttered as he began to look around. Observing the colorful garden nearby, an idea shot into the Koopa's mind. "I guess I could get her a nice flower and take her out to dinner to try and make amends."

Just as Koops said this, a large, pink flower suddenly emerged from the ground right in front of the two Koopas. Both of them stared at it for a minute as they took a simultaneous bite out of their ice cream cones.

"That's a pretty nice flower," Korey commented, prompting Koops to look up into the air for a moment. A white bubble appeared where he directed his gaze and it displayed a small list of pictures, evidently items that were being kept in Koops's pockets.

Sorting through a few coins, his normal jacket that he wasn't wearing at the time, and tickets for the blimp to Glitzville and the train to Poshley Heights, Koops rested on a pair of gardening clippers. The bubble then disappeared and the clippers promptly jumped out of thin air and landed in Koops's free hand. Why in the world he carried a pair of gardening scissors on him Korey would never know, but it was convenient for carefully cutting the stem of the beautiful flower in a neat fashion as opposed to ripping it out by the roots like a savage.

And so, Koops strolled over and neatly clipped the flower midway down its stem, quickly tossing the scissors into the air so he could pick up the flower as they disappeared into his pocket. The Koopa could hardly turn back around to begin to head back to the tree before a blood-curdling scream could be heard though. A jolt coursed up both Koops's and Korey's spines so quickly that they nearly dropped their ice cream cones as a Bub-ulb emerged from the ground, eyes wide and mouth agape as its shriek filled the air.

"**_OH MY GOSH!! OOOHHH MYYY GOOOSH!!!_"** the creature cried out at the top of its lungs as it proceeded to run around in small circles. "**_MY BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS FLOWER!!! IT'S BEEN CUT OFF!!!_**" It soon came to a sudden halt and began to cry profusely on the spot. "This is it!! My game is over!! Goodbye!! Goodbye you cruel, heartless world!! And may we never...meet again!!"

With that, a pair of "x"'s replaced the poor plant's eyes and it soon slumped onto the ground, its tongue rolled out on the ground before it to complete the horrendous scene and there were several moments of silence before either Koopa seemed to figure out what just happened. But once he did realize what he had done, Koops couldn't have possibly felt more sorrowful and guilty if he tried.

"I killed Bub-ulber..." he muttered as he dropped his ice cream cone and brought both of his hands to his forehead, trying to come to terms with the fact that he just took away an innocent life. "I killed Bub-ulber!"

Remembering that he held Bub-ulber's flower in his hand, Koops quickly dropped it and watched it float to the ground as water began to fill his eyes.

"I-I didn't mean to do it!" Koops continued as if the flower were accusing him of the murder. "I-I didn't know it was attached to Bub-ulber!! Oh my gosh, I'm a dirty, stinking, life-stealing criminal!!"

"Get a hold of yourself man!" Korey shouted as he approached his weeping friend, only causing Koops to round on him with fearful eyes.

"I'm gonna have to skip town Korey!" Koops retorted as his eyes darted about maniacally. "I'm gonna have to live under an assumed named and get a paint job for my shell and grow a beard and-"

Korey promptly slapped the hysterical Koopa across the face as hard as he could.

"Calm down Koops!! You're not gonna have to do any of that okay!? It was an _accident!!_" Korey yelled in returned, only causing welled up tears to fall from Koops's face.

"Who cares if it was an accident!!?? **_I KILLED BUB-ULBER!!_**" he screamed as loudly as he could into the heavens, causing the earth around him to tremble as he did so.

Mere seconds later, another Bub-ulb made its way onto the scene and stared at the two Koopas with a rather confused gaze. Koops and Korey both looked at the Bub-ulb simultaneously as a moment of silence prevailed.

"I'M SORRY!!" Koops quickly shouted before letting out a high-pitched yelp and quickly turning tail to flee.

"STOP ACCUSING HIM, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!" Korey followed up before looking around nervously and turning to run just as his friend did, dropping his ice cream cone in his panic.

The Bub-ulb simply watched the two run off for a short while before approaching the deceased Bub-ulber, bending its own flower over his head, and releasing a small shower of pollen on top of him. Almost immediately, the "x"'s that served as Bub-ulber's eyes disappeared and he soon stood erect once more, the bud of a new flower protruding from his head thanks to the pollination.

"Say, thanks Bud," Bub-ulber said with a smile. "I thought I was a goner for sure that time."

"This is the last time I pollinate you man," Bud answered as he turned to leave. "That's the third time this week you've gotten your flower cut off."

–

Just outside of the eastern town gate, Koops and Korey ended their run and stopped to catch their breath and figure out what they were going to do about the situation.

"Whatever we do, we _cannot_ turn ourselves in to the authorities!" Korey spoke up after looking around to ensure that nobody was eavesdropping on them.

"But I won't be able to live with myself if I don't!" Koops responded, nervously rubbing his hands together as his eyes darted about. "I _killed_ Bub-ulber Korey! I **_killed_** him!"

"Just think about it Koops," Korey began, "What did you _really_ kill? A flower! You killed a _flower_ that was attached to a giant _bulb!_ That's not a crime!"

"But Bub-ulber was a living, breathing thing Korey, how can you even say that he was just a flower!?"

"Look Koopa!" Korey growled as he suddenly grabbed Koops by the shoulders and his eyes narrowed menacingly. "I am _not_ going to jail for being an accessory of a crime okay!? You are gonna keep your mouth shut about this and we're gonna forget it ever happened. _You got me!?_"

Hesitating for a brief moment, shocked at the sudden evil tone in his best friend's voice, Koops finally nodded.

"Okay, okay..." he muttered just before taking in a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "I'll pretend...that none of this ever happened..."

"Good...good..." Korey said as he released Koops from his tight grip, calming himself down as well. He glanced down at the ground for a moment before speaking up once again. "So let's just go back to our houses...pretend we never-"

"Hey guys, what's up?" a passing Koopa called out with a smile.

"IT WAS ALL KOOPS'S FAULT!!" Korey blurted out immediately, bringing a look of disbelief to Koops's face.

"I-IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Koops rebounded. "A-AND YOU WERE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME THAT THE FLOWER LOOKED NICE!!"

"BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU MANAGED TO GET KOOPIE KOO MAD AT YOU AGAIN!!"

"I GET _QUEASY_!! I CAN'T HELP THAT!!"

"Whoa whoa whoa guys, calm down," the Koopa interjected, succeeding in quieting the shouting friends. "Now, what's going on here?" Koops and Korey gave each other a sorrowful glance as their eyes began to water. Both of them broke down into tears and fell to their knees simultaneously.

"We killed Bub-ulber!!" they both cried out at the Koopa's feet. The Koopa stared at both of them for several seconds in confusion before finally deciding to speak up.

"...So?" he said, causing Koops and Korey to gaze up at him with questioning looks on their faces. "Bub-ulber's flower gets picked at least four times a week and he always makes a big show of 'dying'. But then one of his Bub-ulb friends always comes by and pollinates him so he just grows another flower. He never actually stays dead."

"Hey fellas!" Bub-ulber called over to the group as he nonchalantly strolled by with a cheerful grin on his face.

The Koopa decided to walk away from the scene as Koops and Korey stared at Bub-ulber... He was perfectly fine... After leading both of the Koopas to believe that they killed him... For good...

…

"Well, I better go find Koopie Koo and apologize," Koops said as he stood up and wiped himself off. Korey soon followed suit.

"Yeah, I should get back to writing," he added.

And thus, the pair of Koopas headed back into town. And promptly forgot about everything that just happened.


	3. Wasp

**Funny how I decide to finally update this "story" after just kinda bashing self-insertion fics. But oh well, I just had to make another one of these. It's a little late (meant to post it last night), but I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**"Wasp"**

"And many mooorrre!" the group of Korey's friends finished before whooping and clapping as the celebrated birthday boy blew out the candle on his cake happily.

"Thanks so much you guys, this is awesome!" Korey spoke up with a bright smile, still surprised that Koops actually managed to keep the surprise party a secret all day. The job of setting up the party location in Korey's own house was quite well done; he never suspected a thing, even as people zipped back and forth through town at a noticeably more frequent rate than usual. A large mushroom cake was baked by Koopie Koo for the occasion, and Koopley and Koopook handled the decorations and various snacks. Kroop was also present, rambling at a corner of the house about what it would be like if his eyebrows were a mustache, and various other townsfolk were present, enjoying themselves thoroughly as the cutting of the cake proceeded.

"Man, this is the best birthday ever," Korey admitted to Koops with a smile as he received his slice of the rich, enticing cake. "And it's the perfect excuse for continuing to totally ignore working on my novel."

"I'm glad you like it," Koops returned with a smile of his own before taking a sip of his fruit punch. "Koopie Koo, my dad and I were up all night baking the cake and making sure we had everything ready for today. We've got a lot of games for later too, so I hope you're ready to stay up all night."

"Heck yeah I am!" Korey exclaimed joyously as he began to dive his fork down into his cake. Before he could stab the delicacy however, Koops glanced over at the plate of food and promptly choked on the punch he was currently downing.

"Korey, there's a-"

Coughing. An unexpected belch. The staring of one Koopa at another, hoping the other was okay.

"There's a wasp on your cake!" Koops finally got out after several seconds of choking and/or gagging. Korey, dumbfounded, dared to take a look at his slice of cake. And, sure enough, walking about casually right on top of it, was a wasp.

…

"_OH MY DEAR GOD!!!_"

Korey jettisoned the plate clear across the room in his immediate panic, causing it to shatter and the cake to smear all over the wall it collided into. Everyone immediately jumped at the sudden outburst and they all stared at Korey simultaneously, none but Koops understanding why the heck he just did that.

"_There's a wasp!_" Korey shouted immediately, pointing at the now-flying insect as it began to circle the room menacingly. Everyone stared at the intimidatingly large bug with its crude, hanging limbs with fear and shock equal to Korey's, and Koopie Koo freaked out beyond believe once the insect suddenly decided to take interest in her.

"_OH MY GOSH!!_" she screamed at the top of her lungs shortly before bolting at the closed door leading outside, breaking the thing's top hinge as she plowed through it and didn't come to a stop until she was on the small island outside the house. And she wasn't the only one that started to panic as the wasp continued to make its way around the place.

People ducked and hid in fear, covering their heads as the wasp came near and jumping clear across the room just to get away from it. What was a joyous occasion only moments ago became a panicked frenzy of dodging and screaming as Koopas and Toads zipped back and forth all about the house. Mayor Kroop was the only person to appear completely calm, simply wondering why in the world everyone was so worried about such a small bug.

"Why, in my day, bugs were as big as dogs," he mused to nobody in particular. "And dogs were as big as mammoths. And mammoths were our school buses."

As he spoke, he didn't notice that the wasp was flying directly at him, but the rest of the residents in the house did.

"Mayor, watch out!" that one video-game obsessed Toad kid cried out at the top of his lungs as everyone else gave out a collective gasp.

The mayor, oblivious, continued to rant on as the wasp flew ever closer to him. And it was soon understood that, if he was to remain safe, someone would have to get him out of the way immediately.

And thus, Koopook stood up to the challenge. Emerging from his exceptional hiding spot in a paper thin slit behind Korey's bookcase, time slowed to a crawl as he immediately turned toward the mayor and began to run forward.

"Mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyooooooooorrrrrrrrrrr Kkkrrrrrroooooooooooppp...!...!...!" he shouted out in extreme slo-mo as his arms pumped, his heart raced, and his running feet pounded against the floor. Everyone slowly turned to see Koopook making his mad dash and, distressed, Korey stepped forward, holding out his hand in faint hopes of grabbing the Koopa back.

"Kkkoooooooppppooooooookkk, dddoooooooooonnnnnnn'tttttttt bbbeeeeeee aaaaa heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrroooooooo...!...!...!" he shouted out as Koops grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, away from the danger.

Koopook didn't listen though. He was determined. The mayor had to be saved from the flying threat, and he was the only one close enough to get him out of the way in time.

He dived. Everyone watched with bated breath as Koopook and the wasp were both mere feet away from the still jabbering mayor, waiting to see which of the two would get to him first.

"Yyyyyyyyeeeeeeeesssssssss, IIIIIIII rrrrrrreeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmbbbbbeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr Mmmmmmiiiiiiiiisssssssssssssssssssssssss Cccaaaarrrrrrrrmmmmmmiiiiiiiiiicccchhhhhaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeellllllll fffffooooooonnnnnndddllllyyyyy-wwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhoooooooooaaaaaaaaa nnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllliiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee...!...!...!" he shouted out slowly as he was tackled to the ground by Koopook and the wasp flew harmlessly by overhead. Time slowly progressed back into regular speed, and Koopook helped the mayor to his feet as the wasp nestled itself onto the window that was just behind where the mayor was standing. Korey soon grabbed everyone's attention and began to order that everyone evacuate the house immediately.

"Okay, the wasp came down to land, so we have a few seconds for _everyone to get out and save themselves!!!_" he shouted urgently. Everyone immediately took heed of the instruction and clamored for the door. And, in a matter of seconds, the house was empty. Well, mostly empty anyway, for Korey and Koops had stayed behind.

"Koops, you've gotta get outta here, that wasp could start flying any second! I have to defend my home and take care of this myself."

"I-I can't Korey," Koops responded, looking at Korey, then over at the wisp on the window. He was obviously afraid, but, "I'm not gonna leave you to face this w-wasp by yourself. It's too dangerous."

Korey was touched. His best friend, offering to stay by his side until the offending bug was dispelled... He had to do all he could to hold back a tear as he stepped forward and placed a hand on Koops's shoulder.

"Thanks Koops... I'm lucky to have a friend as great as you," he said, nearly bringing a tear to Koops's eye as well. But, breaking their moment of serenity was the evil, hair-raising sound of buzzing and occasional tapping. Both Koopas shot their eyes back to the window and saw that the wasp was flying once more, bumping itself into the window multiple times. _Maliciously_.

"Okay, while it's still dazed and confused, go under my sink and get the can of bug spray and any other spray you can find!" Korey order immediately. "I'll stay here and fend it off until you get back!"

Koops nodded quickly and jetted off for Korey's kitchen as Korey himself watched the wasp closely. Thankfully, it appeared as if it wouldn't stop bumping into that window anytime soon, and Koops's voice rang out to him.

Korey turned to catch the can of bug spray Koops said he was about to toss over. The moment the can left Koops's hand though, he shouted out urgently and pointed behind Korey's back.

"Look out!"

Korey turned his head to look over his shoulder, and the wasp landed right on his beak.

Time froze as a large, red curtain immediately fell out of the sky, draping over the entire scene for a moment before slowly lifting back up into the rafters. Standing on the left side of the stage in front of twelve onlookers, Korey didn't even have time to involuntarily spasm at the realization that the wasp was on his nose before he was smacked on the back of the head with the can of bug spray. He took one point of damage for the hit, but, thankfully, the sudden forward jerk of his head caused the wasp to jump off him and fly to the opposite side of the stage.

"Dear lord, it's getting more aggressive by the minute," Korey spoke up with a shudder as he knelt down to pick of the can as Koops came by his side with a bottle of glass cleaning spray.

"We have to get rid of it fast," Koops responded shakily. "If it gets outside, who knows what could happen?"

"Then let's nip this thing in the bud!"

Korey then looked into the air in order to select one of the three battle categories that presented themselves: "Attack", "Items", and "Tactics". He immediately checked out his attacks, and saw that the only offensive attack he had, "Shell Spin", was grayed out, thanks to the enemy's aerial nature. His second move, "Withdraw", his defensive move where he hid in his shell and nullified all damage granted he guard correctly on top of that, was quite enticing, but would have been cowardly and useless for the situation at hand.

He then moved over to Tactics, where "Switch Partner" showed itself to be grayed out. "Appeal" and "Defense" were quite useless as well, but he looked at the "Run Away" option for several seconds.

Oh, how he wished he could do that. But he had to defend his home.

Closing out that sub menu, Korey went to his last choice, "Items", wherein waited the only item he had on his person: the can of bug spray. The number "3" displayed itself next to the item. So, he only had three shots at this...

The menu closed itself out and, reluctantly, Korey walked over to the other side of the stage to face the wasp. As he drew near, he leaned his body and head back as far as he could while holding out his can of spray as if it were going to explode the moment he pressed down on the dispensing cap.

He sprayed all about wildly, keeping his eyes closed in fear the whole time. However, the wasp easily evaded the attack, simply flying up higher than the spray ever reach and remaining elevated there until Korey opened his eyes and realized he missed completely.

"Ah man," he mumbled as he returned to his side of the stage and an audience member left the performance.

Koops now attempted his turn at spraying the bug with his not-quite-as-lethal-but-still-mildly-effective spray, acting in a similar fashion as Korey did before him as he administered the attack. The wasp evaded yet again, but, this time, it never came back down to its previous position. Instead, it seemed to take notice of a light shining from the rafters above the stage, and soon granted it more interest than Korey and Koops.

"Wh-What's it doing up there?" Koops asked nervously, afraid it might be tampering with the equipment and setting up a light or something to drop down on them. Once they observed that it was simply bumping against the light though, it was evident that it made the crafty the decision to suspend itself outside of the reach of the Koopas' sprays. A genius move.

"We need a different item, like a Fire Flower or something," Korey observed, turning to Koops to ask if he had anything on his person.

"All I have are these garden clippers," Koops admitted, which Korey summoned out of his pocket and grabbed out of the air anyway. He immediately turned to face the wasp once more and chucked the clippers at it as hard as he could. The shears barely missed the bug, but it made quick work of the light it _wasn't_ bumping into and shattered the glass and the bulb within to pieces, creating a shower of crowd-pleasing sparks that did nothing to help the situation at all, but did attract three new audience members. "I guess I didn't really need those..." Koops muttered as Korey stomped his foot and snapped his fingers in aggravation.

"Do any of you have anything that could help?" Korey asked, turning to the audience, who immediately started shoveling through pockets as they searched.

Almost all of them turned up nothing, but one Shy Guy (thankfully) whipped out a Courage Shell and held it up proudly.

"Heads up!" he shouted just before tossing the shell up toward the stage. Absently, Koops actually tilted his head up and looked around for something that may soon fall from the ceiling.

"Is something coming loos-"

The shell soon whacked him in the side of the head (don't worry, he took no damage) and ricocheted back into the crowd as Koops himself lost his balance and stumbled a few steps toward the backdrop. As the shell promptly knocked out the very Shy Guy who tossed it up for the Koopas' use, Koops tripped up and slammed himself into the background.

As he stood up, the cardboard wall began to wobble and teeter dangerously. Soon enough, the backdrop came crashing down on the two Koopas, who did absolutely nothing to stop it, for their innate one point of defense would prevent them from being hurt anyway.

The prop splintered to pieces before disappearing as both Koopas continued to ponder what else they could throw at the antagonistic wasp. Then they looked at the items sitting in their hands.

"Oh yeah..." they both muttered at the same time. Koops then chucked his bottle of glass cleaner with all his might. And, thankfully, the projectile was dead on. Unthankfully, the crafty wasp dipped down just in the knick of time, causing the bottle to crash into the spotlight and fall back to the ground harmlessly. Before disappearing.

"Wha-hey, where'd the bottle go!?" Koops spoke up, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to simply retrieve his weapon, and wondering if the same thing happened to his coveted gardening clippers.

"That's not important right now Koops, we have to-hey, where's it going?" Korey said, staring in disbelief as the wasp casually buzzed its way offstage, uneventfully ending the battle as Korey and Koops were forced into their victory poses and the crowd clapped reluctantly, incredibly disappointed by the lackluster show.

The world faded to black momentarily before Koops and Korey found themselves back in the house. Exclamation marks popped up above their heads as they watched the wasp quietly exit the house, and both Koopas hurried over to the door in order to continue keeping watch over it, along with virtually the entire rest of the town, who were all gathered outside on the island that Koopie Koo made her escape to minutes ago.

They all watched the creature in silent awe as it buzzed to and fro aimlessly for a matter of moments, then, suddenly, spontaneously, ascended high into the air. It headed off in the direction of Shhwonk Fortress, and, before long, it was gone...

But the crowd continued to look...

Korey and Koops continued to look...

Pennington continued his raging accusations...

And soon, all was peaceful. The threat was gone. Everyone was safe once more.

But Korey had a feeling...that that wouldn't be the last time he'd be seeing the likes of that ordinary, harmless wasp... And he would have to stay prepared to defend his home-no, his entire town, if it ever made its return...


	4. Today's Headline

**Cascore's Note: Writer's Block continues to haunt me. And now school's started, so that doesn't help very much. But, tonight, I was feeling silly, and decided to belt out this little chapter in about twenty or thirty minutes. It was rushed, but hey, I never claimed to take this fanfiction seriously in the first place. I think it turned out pretty well though. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**"Today's Headline"**

At 2:00 P.M. in the town of Petalburg, a very odd occurrence has taken place. What appeared to be four members from two rival gangs arrived on the scene today and, spontaneously, engaged each other in a thirty-minute long rap battle, which was soon followed by a furious dance-off that has left some blind and others hysterical.

One gang consisted of two Koopas, who locals have confirmed to be named Koops, 21, and Korey, 19. Their rivals were unknown, but it was apparent that they were X-Nauts, whom I'm sure we all remember from several years ago. Their eventual showdown was preceded by a small exchange, according to locals.

"Everyone knows about the X-Nauts," Koopie Koo, 23, commented. "They were those losers my sweetie helped Mario defeat five years ago. Why they ever showed their faces around here, I'll never know, but Korey confronted them immediately."

According to eye witness accounts, Korey approached the X-Nauts as soon as he spied them walking by outside of his home. At the time, Koops was visiting him, and was reportedly sucked into the whole situation unwillingly.

"I mean, sure, I don't have great memories of the X-Nauts, but I didn't want to go and fight them or anything. They haven't done a thing in years," Koops informed us. "But Korey basically dragged me into the whole situation..."

"Yeah, I made Koops back me up. And I'd do it again too!" Korey reported energetically. "There are two things that aren't allowed into this town by any means: X-Nauts, and wasps."

When asked about the reasoning behind banning wasps, Korey refused to answer. He claimed it was too traumatizing to recall.

Nobody really knew what the two Koopas said to the X-Nauts, but it was evident to onlookers that the X-Nauts were dazed and confused about what was going on.

"I don't think the X-Nauts were up to anything very bad," Toadster, 7, commented.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't even know where they were to be honest," Koopook, 22, imparted.

"HOO!? WHAT NOW!!?? ECKS-SNOTS!!?? GESUNDHEIT!!" Mayor Kroop, 174, shouted.

Yes, it was quite evident that the X-Nauts were not looking for trouble, but reports show that Korey challenged them to a rap battle. And, as is law in the town of Petalburg, rap battles must be accepted, or else you are automatically considered "Punked", which is among the most shameful titles one can be given. The X-Nauts would not be able to show face for quite some time had they stepped down from the challenge.

"When Korey challenged them to a rap battle...God, I was so nervous," Koops told us. "I haven't been in one of those since I was thirteen... That was a long time ago."

And so, the red curtain dropped and soon, the entire town was filling up the available seats at the foot of the stage, ready to see the first rap battle to occur in Petalburg in over six years. Both sides held microphones in their hands, and the battle began.

"They were spittin' mad rhymes yo!" KP Pete, 25, commented. "Yeah dawg, when I heard there was gonna be a rap battle in my hometown, I hopped in a pipe and got here as fast as I could. And I'm glad I did. It was epic!"

"I can't believe you X-Nauts ever even got as far as you did, I've seen better plans thought up by a six year old kid!" and "You guys hide yo faces to try and look fly, but the truth is yo mugs are so ugly, if anyone saw them they would die!" were only a few of the mad rhymes thrown out by the highlight of the show, Korey. His partner, Koops, didn't fare so well.

"Mario and I kicked your butts five years ago, by now I thought you'd be too ashamed to even show one of your...toes..." and "You guys should just go back where you came from, because you aren't welcome here and you never...will be... Wait, that didn't rhyme..." were a few of his examples.

But the crowd was surprised with the X-Nauts' ability to belt out insults just as quickly and wittily as the better of the two Koopa contestants.

"You guys are just mad 'cause you ain't nothin' without yo shells. You wanna attack a flying enemy? Oh well!" "Your plus one defense is all you got to brag about. And even then, all we gotta do is jump on yo head and we can take you out!"

By the end of the long, grueling battle, both sides found themselves equally as served, as judged by the audience members.

"I've gotta admit, the X-Nauts were pretty impressive!" Koopley, 45, commented. "But Korey truly shined out there! I hate to say this considering my own son was a part of his team, but Korey really carried the both of them through this one."

"OMG!! Dude, that was intense!" Bub-ulber, 4 days, remarked. "I thought both sides did awesome! I really couldn't decide a clear winner if I tried! Well, maybe if one of them gave me a hot dog..."

Yes, the crowd was evenly split. Neither side got the higher approval. And so, according to Petalburg customs, there was only one option. They had to enter a dance-off.

"'Dance-off'? Why in the world would you want to 'dance off'? I'd think it'd be much safer and more logical to dance _on_ something," Mayor Kroop commented when asked.

And so, once the crowd settled down and the microphones were removed from the stage, the two sides limbered up and prepared themselves. Soon, the designated DJ for the event laid down some phat beats. And, as expected, Korey of the Koopa Team made the first move.

"I'm gonna be honest, it was probably the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life," Toce T., 20, admitted with a blush when asked about Korey's dancing. "He did a mix of popping and locking and just flowing with the beat of the music, he pulled off a moonwalk flawlessly, and that perfect backflip... I just melted, I swear."

Again, Korey had proven himself to be the star of the show, receiving massive cheers of support from the entire crowd as he stepped back and let the X-Nauts take their turn.

"They both came up and did some weird crazy stuff," Koopook told us. "It was...enthralling. Very interesting. It made me think..."

"And then they did something _nobody_ expected dawg," KP Pete further commented. "One of them grabbed the other, tossed him high up into the air, and, somehow, the one in the air split himself into seven different X-Nauts that formed a circle! The one that was on the ground did a backflip right through the middle of it, landed with the splits, spun around and laid on his side as the seven other X-Nauts landed right behind him and all melded back into one again! Nobody could believe that dawg! I was floored!"

Even though they were the technical enemies, everyone raved over the impressive final move by the X-Nauts. And now, it was Koops's turn.

"I've gotta admit...I was really nervous for my Koops," Koopie Koo said. "If there's one thing he's worse at than rapping, it's dancing. He's a total klutz..."

Nobody in the crowd expected the Koopas to win at this point. Koops himself didn't even look that confident as he entered the center of the stage. Soon, he started his routine.

"...It was embarrassing, to say the least," Koopook told us with a sigh.

"Yo...I just wasn't feelin' it when K-Dawg got up there," KP Pete informed.

"It hurt my eyes..." Toadster rang in.

"It induced vomiting within the crowd. Several people had to be rushed out, it was _that_ bad," Bud, 5, commented.

Koops's routine began with what is commonly know as the Koopa Boy; he grabbed the shin of his right leg and began to pump it back and forth as he held the back of his head with his left hand. He followed it up with "The Sprinkler", dropping his leg and holding his right arm straight out, jerking it from left to right as he slowly rotated his body. He continued with "The Monkey", "The Electric Slide", and, finally, "The Macarena". It was possibly the worst medley of dance moves to be seen by the unsuspecting eyes of the crowd, the X-Nauts, and his own partner. By the time he was finished, only two people had managed to remain sane and didn't need emergency assistance: Koops himself, and Mayor Kroop.

"...Was it really that bad?" Koops asked us sheepishly.

"I dunno what everyone else was doing. I liked it!" Kroop informed us.

An entire hospital of medical professionals from Rogueport had to be rushed in to assist the victims of Koops's dance routine. Everyone is fine, and, at the end of the day, the winner was unanimously decided. Because their team had at least one conscious member remaining at the end of the dance-off, Team Koopa was declared the winner. An accomplishment of pride their entire town should cherish for many years to come.


End file.
